The boom in online mobile shopping is unprecedented. According to BigCommerce and PayPal’s 2021 Consumer Spending Report, two-thirds of consumers made at least one online purchase with their mobile devices each month. This has posed a challenge to companies that have been slow to modernize, especially during the holidays when there’s a huge spike in shopping. Today’s consumers expect highly personalized experiences across all engagement channels, and a seamless mobile experience plays a key role in meeting those demands to cultivate customer loyalty during high shopping periods.
In today’s global marketplace, leading enterprises are realizing the importance of supplementing NoSQL cloud databases with embedded mobile database technologies. This enables them to offer unique, yet synchronized customer experiences that span in-person, web and mobile devices at scale. Providing engaging mobile capabilities can result in new revenue opportunities, and organizations that fail to deliver on this front stand to fall behind the competition and miss out on holiday ROI.
Mobile’s impact on building customer loyalty
More so than ever before, organizations across industries understand that adopting a mobile strategy cannot be an afterthought, it must be an integral part of the core strategy for overall customer engagement. Take banking, for example. A report by Forrester Research revealed that a growing number of consumers are frustrated that banking apps lack the same functionalities offered on websites (e.g. budgeting and saving features).
When managing finances, especially during high spending periods, users expect mobile banking to be seamless, and they expect the services offered to be equal to in-store or web offerings. However, many customers complain about the obstacles they face in leveraging apps to do things like receive financial advice that’s tailored to their unique financial circumstances. These challenges have resulted in users increasingly opting for digital banks that are not hampered by outdated technology, and are instead designed to make digital experiences effortless and enjoyable for users at scale.
Similarly, within retail, customers are frustrated with mobile experiences. Users are often unnecessarily prompted to fill out lengthy registrations or create accounts that are difficult to navigate on mobile devices. Retailers that are slow to digitally innovate unwittingly create a sub-par experience for their customers, such as offering limited payment options and requiring users to provide information they’ve repeatedly shared.
In order to build a loyal customer base during the holidays and beyond, organizations must augment their cloud strategies with mobile and edge capabilities in mind. This is evidenced by a PwC report, which found that nearly three out of five consumers will not return to apps after several bad shopping experiences, and 17 percent will avoid apps after just one bad experience. Without prioritizing mobile as part of the customer experience, organizations risk potentially losing up to a fifth of their customers.
The growing need for a mobile database that extends to the edge
All of this highlights the fact that companies need to improve their approach to data to ensure that the mobile experience matches the web experience. With the right technology, organizations can empower developers to not only meet this critical requirement, but also create new and dynamic mobile applications that give organizations a competitive advantage during high shopping periods.
Adopting a NoSQL edge-ready data platform, which includes an embedded mobile database with built-in sync capabilities, will enable organizations to store, process, synchronize and analyze data directly at the point of interaction, powering modern applications that are always fast and always reliable. In addition, the right mobile database will provide offline-first capabilities for apps, meaning users can retain a first-class experience, even in locations where the Internet connection may be slow, unstable or completely absent for extended periods. This further ensures a seamless and positive customer journey at every possible touch-point.
Mobile experiences are here to stay
Mobile usage will only continue to grow. And with more and more consumers engaging with brands on mobile applications, organizations that neglect to invest in their mobile strategies will lose ground against the competition. That’s why in 2022 and beyond, modern companies must adopt technologies that empower developers to build mobile applications that are innovative, scalable, always available and user-friendly.